Awakening
by Breath Of Wyvern
Summary: Follow Damon as he works to discover who he is, was, and will be.
1. Waking Up

Awakening

For a while, it felt like I was falling. I tried to open my eyes, but they wouldn't obey. I didn't feel wind rushing past me, nor water, nor anything really, just the sensation of vertigo and the pull of something beneath me. My consciousness was fading fast. My thoughts felt muffled and supressed as if I were under sedation. I couldn't remember anything about myself, other than my name, Damon. Though, it sounded strange, as if it didn't belong to me. Yet, it was the only thing I could remember, so it had to be my name. Then everything went blank again. The next thing I felt was something underneath me, like I was lying on an uneven surface. I could smell trees, and hear leaves rustling. A bird chirped away somewhere. How lovely.

I waited a few minutes for the feeling in my body to completely return before daring to open my eyes. I was in a clearing amidst a large forest, sleeping upon the roots of a massive tree, whose branches made a large canopy that reached the other treetops. Sunlight beamed through the leaves at the perfect angle to temporarily blind me. Thanks for that, nature. The sharp pain made me aware of the lingering headache that clouded my thoughts. I stirred a little, managing to sit upright. My everything hurt, but it was a dull pain as if it had been there for so long I was already used to it.

A chill ran down my spine as a gust of wind rushed past me. All I could hear now was the moving foliage. When had the birds gone silent? Something in the woods ahead of me caught my eye, and I tensed. I dared not move. It felt as if I was being watched, or, more likely, stalked. My fear suddenly melted away, along with everything else as I could feel my consciousness slipping away again. I resigned myself to the fact that I would be eaten, but at least I would be unconscious and hopefully it would be a painless death. My sight faded and my head spun as I fell backwards onto the tree's roots again.

Suddenly, water. My senses returned immediately as my body's survival instincts kicked in. I sputtered and coughed as I pulled myself out of the murky water I found myself in. Ignoring my confusion, I stood up and looked around, taking note of my soaked clothes and the caked mud on my face and hands. I was in a ditch seperating the woodlands behind me from the rolling hills before me. I wiped my self off as best I could and trudged my way up the hill. The sky was just beginning to change color as the sun reached the horizon.

My mind tried it's hardest to piece everything together, but the throbbing of my head made it impossible to focus. I was in a lot of pain, I was confused, and I was starting to feel like I was freezing. I put my head in my hands and yelled in frustration. I immediately regretted doing that. The swampy water behind me began to slosh and bubble. I turned to see something trying to claw through the mud. It appeared human, and it wasn't alone. A bunch of hands emerged from the ditch below me and I knew this wasn't going to be pleasant.

I cursed and bolted down the hill, which I also regretted doing, because I ended up rolling down the hill instead. When I reached the bottom, I was face first in black dirt. I couldn't move, the pain was so crippling. Then I heard the moaning, and my body decided it was ready to cooperate, but it was a tad bit too late. By the time I was standing and had spat out the disgusting earth, I was surrounded by rotting corpses. I was doomed. I tried to think of a solution, a way out, or even of how I got myself into this mess, but no dice. Thinking hurt, not thinking hurt, and everything was going to hurt a lot more if I didn't figure something out.

"To hell with this!" I yelled in frustration and punched the nearest rotting face. It fell to the ground in a blaze of fire and began convulsing. My eyes widened in shock as I looked at my hand, which was also engulfed in flame. The fire wrapped itself around my hand and took the form of a large, glowing fist. I had questions, but I knew worrying about it would get me no where.

"My hand is on fire, but not burning, I'm surrounded by zombies in some swamp, and I have no idea who I am, or why I'm here. But you know what? I don't think I give a damn anymore. I've got a fist, and you've got a face for me to punch. I'll sweat the details later." I declared, with what almost sounded like confidence. I looked down at the zombie I had sent sprawling earlier and raised my leg, bringing my foot down on the creature's head with enough force to destroy its decomposing skull. "Oh, and... double-tap." I muttered without realizing what it meant.

As I fought my way through the horde of undead, more kept showing up. I knocked them down, made sure they didn't get back up, and then moved on to the next one. It seemed like a good plan, but they just kept coming. I didn't know who I was, but I knew I was only human. I could only go for so long. The sun had long faded, the only light coming from the burning corpses and my hands. Breathing was starting to become a chore. My arms felt like spaghetti. You know who wasn't tired? My zom-buddies.

"Is this it? Is this the best I can do? Delay the inevitable? Was I truly doomed from the start? What's the point of keeping this up? I can't... I can't go on..." my head dipped and the flames faded from my hands. The flames... the fire... it appeared when I got angry. Not just that, they stayed lit for as long as I had the will to fight. "With this... can I win? Is this MY power?" the fires started again as if to answer me.

"Then... I can't give up. The moment I give up is the moment this ends. If this pointless struggle is the only chance at life I have... then I'll take it! I'll grab the future with these two hands, and set this whole world ablaze!" my voice kept growing in volume, and the fist-shaped flames grew in unision. I bellowed and launched an inferno at every hollow-skulled ugly mug I saw.

Eventually I was alone, standing in a burning field teaming with scorched corpses. I looked over my shoulder as dawn began to break over the horizon. I let out a huge sigh of relief. This fight was over. I fell backwards and landed on the hillside full of pride. Then I heard the enthusiastic sound of someone clapping.

"Admirably done!" a disdainful voice crept over me. "You fought quite hard. That speech about halfway through was especially impressive. But I'm afraid this is the end." I shot up and spun around to see a woman wearing a tattered black dress that was probably very exquisite at some point. She had a wild look in her eye, one that I was none too happy to see. "What an excellent warrior, with natural magical talent. I think I'll make you mine as compensation for all the toys you broke."

Before I could object, a purple smoke flowed from her dress, dispersing over and seeping into the ground. In the twenty yards between us, the earth shifted and heaved as something seeped out. Before long, a dead man the size of a tree loomed over me with blood pouring from its mouth and eyes. My heart almost stopped. I couldn't fight any more. I was exhausted. I was scared. I wanted to move, to scream, to do SOMETHING, but I was paralyzed.

"So...it was useless after all." I finally managed to squeak. The sun's rays reached across the sky, driving away the dark night I had fought through. The zombie goliath raised its arm above its head slowly, as if it was a great effort to move the decaying muscles. The woman began to cackle in glee. A tear ran down my face. I looked to the sky above and wished that I could at least live long enough to feel the warmth of the sunshine I fought for. The beast's arm began to let gravity have its way. Just a few more moments, and my struggle would be over, along with my life.

The sound of ripping flesh echoed through the air. The zombie's arm finally found its way to the ground, but far away from my body. It was completely dismembered. Ancient blood dripped like molasses from the zombie's stump onto the coarse earth. I brought my gaze back down to see a woman standing in front of me protectively.

She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. The rising sun cast a golden glow about her as she raised her sword, almost as long as she was tall, yet as thin and elegant as the one holding it. A long white dress fluttered in the breeze, with silver armor trimmed in gold around her waist and brest. She had long, strawberry blonde hair that shimmered as the wind blew through it, and enormous white wings sprouting from her back. She turned towards me, her eyes piercing yet comforting.

"You have done your best. Now I give you leave to rest," she stated in a voice so calm that all my worries and fears began to melt away. Just being in the presence of this being made my pain dissolve, like the fog in my mind was being cleared. I had no words to give back to the woman. I simply nodded, tears still streaming down my cheeks. There was no more questioning whether things were real or not, and I was getting tired of asking _who _and _why_. Besides, I wanted to enjoy this moment. I could finally feel the sun's warmth.

She spread her wings and soared into the air. The woman who had summoned the ghoul began to scream. The beast was destroyed in a flash of light and the angel's sword was pointed at her. Strangley enough, I stopped caring. I bathed in the warmth of the dawn, and closed my eyes. Everything that had just occured felt so trivial. I lied back down onto the hillside and let myself slip into a well earned slumber.


	2. Blessed Sleep

After careful analysis, I came to the conclusion that sleep was good. While I slept, my physical condition wasn't an issue. I could forget about my ongoing headache, my lack of knowledge concerning myself, and my recent undead aquaintances. I rolled over in my bed and pulled the covers closer to my face, rubbing my cheek against the fluffy pillows. Uh-oh. This wasn't good. I was waking up, and with that came the awareness of my situation. No, I won't do it. I won't think about the fact that I don't know where I currently am or how I got there. I refuse to contemplate my recent battle. I absolutely, positively will NOT think about my amnesia or pyrokinesis. Those two problems didn't exist, nope, definitely not. Sleep good, thinking bad.

I gave in to the inevitability and slowly opened my eyes. I was lying in a cot in the corner of a dimly lit room. A few rays of sun trickling in through a cracked window illuminated specks of dust floating about. I noticed I was wearing white cotton trousers and a matching tunic. Across the room was a wooden dresser with my old clothes folded neatly on top, apparently clean. There was also a small writing desk and a standing mirror in the other corners. Slowly, I sat upright, not wanting to push my aching body. I didn't hurt as much as I had yesterday, but I could still feel the effects of my encounter. Not to mention, I was famished.

I looked at my hands. There was nothing about them that would have given away that they used to be on fire. I replayed the events in my head. I could barely believe any of it was real. I took a deep breath and let it sink in. I couldn't remember very much else, I knew I wasn't in a familiar place. Everything around me both now and back then was completely foreign to my knowledge. Fire, magic, and zombies weren't every day occurances, which was a relief, kind of. This meant I wasn't putting my life in danger every day, but also that I had somehow gotten myself into something very strange and bad business. Thinking this way was really starting to put a strain on myself.

"Maybe I should look at this another way..." I said to myself as I looked into my own eyes in the mirror. Whatever my old life was, that was over. Whoever I used to be was gone from my mind. If I couldn't think past that moment in that bog, then that was my new birth, and the first thing I was met with was zombies. That means zombies are very real, and whatever I used to think about them doesn't matter anymore. I can manipulate fire. That's true now. I was also saved by an angel. My heart felt warm at that thought.

"So the past me liked angels too... there's at least one thing that we have in common. I'll keep that in mind moving forward," I grabbed my clothes and began to change. Blue jeans, a black t-shirt, and a navy blue hoodie were evidently my garb of choice. I played with the zipper of my jacket with a sense of nostalgia. I looked at myself in the mirror and saw my brown hair was a rat's nest. I searched around the dresser and found a small comb, and after running it through my hair a few times I found that it was incredibly stubborn. My bangs were long enough to cover my eyes as I combed it, but once the teeth left my hair it immediately curled back up.

Tired of the pointless struggle, I set the comb down and studied myself. I was fairly tall, but not amazingly so, a bit on the chubby side, but with a broad chest and thick arms. I had a scar above my left eye, right under my eyebrow, that looked a few years old. There was another scar by my right temple that looked interestingly similar to a sword. One last scar was barely visible on my brow, right were it creased. I wondered if I got into a lot of fights, though something told me it wasn't likely. Lastly, I stared deep into my blue-green eyes and wondered if I could peer into my soul and see my old self.

"...Meh," I backed away from the mirror after a while and moved towards the door. When I opened it, I was greeted by the sight of several women in maid-like outfits rushing around a kitchen area. One of them turned and smiled, seperating herself from the group and wiping her hands on her apron as she made her way over.

"Morning deary!" she sung cheerfully as she held out her hand. As I shook it, she gave me a crooked smile. "'Bout time you woke up! You look like you have a healthy appetite, yeah? Why don't you go on into the other room while we finish cooking, and talk to the man who brought you back here while you wait?" she gestured towards another door and I nodded thankfully. "Off you are then!" she patted me on my back and I shuffled forth, suddenly very shy for some reason.

The next room was much less busy, filled only with a large dining table and three people standing around various scattered papers. The woman on the left looked very intimidating, wearing full plate armor around her breast and arms, with fiery red hair falling around spikey shoulder pads. She also wore tanned leather shorts under a green sackcloth skirt and a hat with its wide brim turned upwards that gave the impression of a high-ranking military officer.

The woman in the middle wore long white robes with thin metal plates over her chest and shoulders. She also had metal gauntlets and carried a long staff with a strange head that was hard to describe, the word Omega springing to my mind, but not quite fitting. She had dark black hair that shimmered as her head lifted and she studied me with her piercing blue eyes. She had a thin face that reminded me a little of the angel.

"Welcome back to the world of the living," said the rightmost man who stood a head above the others and inches above me. His voice was as rough as his dark beard and he peered at me from under his leather cap, its wider edges pinned up. He was dressed in full leather armor, twin axes hanging from his belt.

"We'd feared you had taken a turn for the worst. Glad to see you about again," the woman in the middle stated calmly with a voice that was as smooth as honey. "Do you remember what happened to you?"

"Yes, but other than that, I don't remember a whole lot, actually. Sorry, but where are we?" I tried to sound as polite as possible and not focus on my confusion.

"We're just outside of Hanweir. My name is David, an inquisitor currently assisting the Videns parish. I found you out in the Moorlands, passed out and surrounded by no small amount of dead bodies. Can you tell us how you came to be there?"

"I can't really say how I got there. The first thing I remember was falling into the muck. After that, a bunch of undead showed up... and I fought them as hard as I could. They were being controlled by this woman, and when she summoned this huge zombie, an angel showed up and saved me. By that point, I was so exhausted that I passed out. Beyond that... my memory is a total blank." The two women looked at David, who nodded in turn.

"All the bodies were that of the defiled. There was no trace of a living woman, nor a zombie of significant size, but I did notice feathers scattered about. What I find interesting though, is that all of the deceased were charred. Care to explain that?" David said, sizing me up.

"Well..." I looked at my hands. Would it happen again if I willed it? I attempted to focus and force the flames back, but my hands wouldn't catch. By now, everyone was staring at me with a sideways look. I shook my head before lowering it and saying "I can't explain that one."

"In any case," stated the woman in the middle, "you are alive and unharmed. That is what matters. You say you fought off a horde of undead, a necromancer, and a zombie titan before being saved by an angel? That is quite impressive. My name is Amelia, commander of the Parish-blades here in Videns. The woman next to me is Rorica," she gestured to her left, and the woman grunted in response with a sneer on her face.

"My name is Damon," I responded in a hushed voice. Immediately after, the door behind me opened and in flooded several maids holding large silver trays of steaming bowls and dished.

"Well, Damon, breakfast is served. Sit, eat. You'll need your strength back," Amelia spread her arms and motioned for all of us to sit. I began eying the various dishes of eggs and oatmeal and other such breakfast items as my stomach jumped for joy.

"Is there anything more you can tell us about yourself Damon? What parish you're from, if you have anywhere to go, or if you have any family in the area?" Rorica asked between spoonfulls. I slowly shook my head.

"I can't remember a thing. To be honest, I don't have a clue where Hanweir is or what parishes you keep talking about. Thank you for this food, by the way," I looked up at one of the maids standing around the room, "it's quite delicious." They regarded me with delight and went back into the other room.

"Hmph. Amnesia, is it? And you expect us to believe that? I say this bloke just wants our pity and more free food," Rorica rolled her eyes and slouched back in her chair.

"I'm telling the truth," I insisted, putting down my fork. "I promise, I can find a way to pay you for this if you want me to!"

"Calm down Damon, I believe you. The church is always willing to help those who need it," Amelia reassured me.

"Church?" I wondered, "didn't you say we were in a stronghold? Like, military, right?" Rorica began chuckling.

"Someone pay this fool! He plays quite the actor! The furrowed brow is especially convincing."

"Hush!" David slammed his fist on the table and Rorica grew silent. She returned to her food in submission.

"Here on Innistrad," Amelia began, "there are horrors in abundance that would see all humanity wiped from existence. Powerful vmpires, undead gheists and zombies, not to mention the devils and demons. We are always under the eyes of evil, but our faith in Avacyn protects us. This is why the church is so much like a military as well as governing force."

"Inquisitors are tought scripture, philosophy, and the fine art of sharpening an axe," David interjected with a smile.

"Avacyn's holy warriors kept hope alive in her darkest hours. Now they will carry that hope across Innistrad. If all that you've said is true, then that means you have nowhere to return to, the ability to fight, and a debt to repay," she gestured at the food with a slight smile, "how would you like to be an Inquisitor? David is on his way to Nephalia tomorrow, and can take you to the training grounds if you so desire."

I looked at David expectantly and he smiled in approval. It was true I didn't have anywhere else I could go, but I was being recruited right out of the blue. Amelia had an expectant look in her eye, and Rorica was looking off to the side, as if she didn't think it was a good idea. I should do it just to mess with her, if nothing else, I thought to myself.

"Sure, why not. If you don't mind," I said to David.

"No problem at all, mate. We'll get you geared up and ready to go in the morning."


End file.
